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Audi Formula 1 Racing Director Allan McNish said working with Ayrton Senna at his first McLaren test made him realise that talent “only gets you so far” without a work ethic and focus on detail. McNish said: "Ayrton was talking about engine friction and various other things, and that was a benchmark. It made me realise very, very quickly, that if you want to be successful in the game, you've got to step up at every level. Talent only gets you so far. There is a work ethic and a focus on detail that you have to put in. And that was as a driver, but I don't think it is different in any other way of life."
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said leading the team comes with a “significant responsibility” to protect its legacy, after it marked 60 years since its Formula 1 debut and its 1,000th grand prix at this season’s Monaco Grand Prix. Stella said: "It is certainly a significant responsibility, coupled with a sense of pride, which I'm sure is shared by all my colleagues in the team. It is a privilege to lead this team because of what it represents in the history and present of Formula 1, but above all because of the way the team continues to look ahead and tackle challenges: striving every day to be better than yesterday. There's a desire to write new chapters that live up to the tradition we carry on our shoulders, and to do so in true McLaren style."
Mercedes technical director James Allison says Formula 1’s new regulations are still “immature”, which is driving an unusually rapid development race as teams continue to find big performance gains. Allison said: "One of the defining characteristics of this regulation cycle is just how immature the regulations still are. Development rates are enormous compared to previous years. On the aerodynamic side, the gain rate we're seeing in the wind tunnel is roughly six or seven times greater than it was last season. It's roughly half a second every couple of months, which is a very significant rate of progress."
Honda general trackside manager and chief engineer Shintaro Orihara says the manufacturer hopes to be a “top competitor” again in 2027 or 2028 as it works with Aston Martin on improving its power unit. Orihara said: "It's difficult to say an exact time scale in Formula 1 because our performance is always relative to another competitor. After the summer shutdown, we want to go back to the racing field, and then we are working hard in the factory to bring an even bigger step for 2027, but, again, we should be realistic. So, I think that at the beginning of 2027, maybe we will not have the best of the power units yet, but we will be closer to the top competitor. And then we keep pushing hard to be top competitor, I hope, in 2027 or 2028."
Carlos Sainz is set to sign a one-year contract extension with Williams, according to Spanish publication Marca, amid ongoing speculation over his future. Recent reports had linked Sainz to a possible switch to Audi or a return to the Red Bull family, but Marca says he is now expected to stay put despite Williams’ difficult season with its FW48.
Max Verstappen says the 2026 power-unit energy demands are stopping Formula 1 drivers from making a real difference in grands prix, because time gained in corners can be lost on the straights. Verstappen said: "With your throttle input, by being faster sometimes in the corners, you lose more on the straights afterwards, which is not how it should be. You need to be different, and basically it is just neutralising a lot of lap time. Like you're not allowed to make a difference because it will just penalise you on the next straight."
Former FIA steward Johnny Herbert says he received online abuse including messages saying "Death to Herbert", and that it mostly came from Dutch fans who took issue with him questioning Max Verstappen. Herbert said: "That's easy! The Dutch fans who took issue with me questioning Max Verstappen. Actually, they weren't just Dutch. They were from other countries as well: 'Death to Herbert.' They were the worst. They accuse me of being biased. They still do to Martin Brundle. They say, 'You're biased to Lewis Hamilton.' Well, we are British – and Lewis is a Brit. You're Dutch and you support Max and you're saying we're biased, but you want us to support Max. They can't have it both ways. Of course we are going to support a British driver, but it's objective."
George Russell says his work as a director of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association is driven by the “horrifying” memories of the accidents involving Billy Monger and Anthoine Hubert, and that he wants to speak up when he believes unnecessary risks in Formula 1 can be avoided. Russell said: "It all stems a lot for me from two things: the Billy Monger accident and the Anthoine Hubert accident, both of which I saw live. That was horrifying to see, and as a driver, you have a unique perspective that rule-makers, designers and engineers don't see, purely because we are the ones in the car. But when there is an unnecessary risk and something that can be avoided, yeah, I want to raise my voice and be part of that change."
Lewis Hamilton says his improved form in 2026 is not simply the result of Formula 1 moving away from the 2022-25 ground-effect cars, and that changes at Ferrari have helped him get back to where he wants to be. Hamilton said: "I think people do talk about my driving style not working in the previous car, and for sure I was less happy in the previous car, but I still won races, was still able to pull out great races, like Silverstone [2024], for example. So I think it's just being able to adapt. I think last year there were many elements that just wouldn't work for me with the setup that we had here, and it's taken a long time to get those things changed. We're starting to see those things change."
Stefano Domenicali says the “most important thing” in talks about Formula 1’s next technical regulations is having enough time for all sides to properly debate the direction of the rules, with the F1 chief expecting a framework to be in place by the end of this calendar year. Domenicali said: "I think that for me, the most important thing is that there is the right time to debate. As we know, the FIA has the final call on the technical regulations, but the discussion we are having together, also involving manufacturers, fans, teams, and drivers, I think is in the right spot. I do believe that by the end of this year, we're going to be in a position to have a package ready to be discussed."
Charles Leclerc says he is not worried Ferrari will run into cost-cap trouble, insisting he trusts team principal Fred Vasseur to keep the team’s upgrade programme under control after Mercedes boss Toto Wolff questioned how Ferrari can bring so many new parts. Leclerc said: "On that, I trust Fred more than anything. Of course, there's a lot of work from the team to try and push production and to try and push the creative minds behind the team in order to have upgrades as quickly and as efficiently as possible. I'm sure Fred is on top of that. Am I worried? I am not, because I fully trust Fred and I know that he knows what he's doing."
Incoming Cadillac team principal Marcin Budkowski says he will look at whether the team is getting the most out of its Ferrari power unit, including any performance that can be found through energy management. Budkowski said: "We've seen this year... that there's a lot of performance to be unlocked in understanding the intricacies of the energy management mostly, and that's a performance differentiator. I think that's something we need to look at in the team as well. Are we making the most of the hardware we are getting? There's always going to be an element of the supplier will not necessarily share all the tricks of the trade for how to extract the maximum performance. That's a fair game."
Lance Stroll says Formula 1’s 2026 power-unit rules should allow drivers to get the power they ask for, with the current battery management contributing to “yo-yo” racing. Stroll said: "Then we do an overtake, and we have to recharge for two laps, or things like this, and I think proper racing should be: you put your foot down for a certain amount of power, that's what you get. If you put down 50% power, you get 50% power, and if 100%, you get 100%, that's what I think it should be."
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella says he has been relieved to see Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri working “even stronger” together this season, after concerns their relationship could suffer following their 2025 title fight. Stella said: "It wasn't a given that, after last year – when they found themselves battling for the world title right up to the final race – the harmony they'd built would remain intact. Yet not only has this not changed, but the relationship between them and with the team has actually become even stronger. And whilst this might, in a sense, have been expected of Lando… it was not quite so predictable for Oscar."
Gabriel Bortoleto says he has a long-term contract with Audi that will keep him at the Formula 1 team for the next few seasons. Bortoleto said: "As far as I can say, because it's something confidential, let's just say there are no clauses. I have a long-term contract with Audi. I've already said it: I'll be with Audi next year, and not only next year, but for the following years as well."
Mercedes technical director James Allison says Formula 1 teams are seeing an “enormous” rate of progress under the new regulations, with wind-tunnel aerodynamic gains “six or seven times greater” than last season. James Allison said: "One of the defining characteristics of this regulation cycle is just how immature the regulations still are. Development rates are enormous compared to previous years. On the aerodynamic side, the gain rate we're seeing in the wind tunnel is roughly six or seven times greater than it was last season. It's roughly half a second every couple of months."
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